Navy awards $20 billion contract for sixth-generation fighter jet

The Navy awarded Boeing a contract worth more than $20 billion this week to develop and build its next-generation fighter jet, an aircraft the Pentagon has billed as a “generational leap” in airpower.

The sixth-generation fighter jet is temporarily dubbed F/A-XX. It will eventually replace the F/A-18 Super Hornet and EA-18G Growler electronic warfare aircraft and work alongside the F-35C fighter jet, according to a Pentagon statement.

The F/A-XX offers “advanced carrier-based power projection that extends the range of the most agile and survivable airfields — U.S. Navy carriers,” the Pentagon said.

The new fighter jet will operate alongside piloted aircraft and coordinate with combat drones, the Pentagon added.

The full-scale development contract includes building test aircraft, systems and weapons integration testing, the statement said.

Congress earmarked $750 million for the program in the 2025 tax-cut and spending law and an additional $1.4 billion in fiscal year 2026, Reuters reported Tuesday.

The lawmakers’ action effectively revived the F/A-XX program despite Pentagon efforts to sideline it in favor of the Air Force’s sixth-generation F-47 fighter jet.

Navy officials have argued that the spread of advanced antiaircraft systems is among concerns that underscore the urgent need for a sixth-generation fighter. Those threats come not only from China and Russia but also, increasingly, Iran, they say.

In securing the F/A-XX contract, Boeing also gains exclusivity in building America’s sixth-generation fighter aircraft. In March 2025, Boeing was named developer and builder of the F-47.

The Marine Corps also is developing a sixth-generation aircraft that could resemble the Navy fighter in certain aspects. It’s expected to enter service around 2041.

In edging competitor Northrop Grumman, Boeing pitched a carrier version of its F-47 design, saying that having one contractor on both projects would lead to cost savings and technology sharing.

Meanwhile, Northrop Grumman offered a “clean sheet” design that wouldn’t share major elements with the F-47.

Supporters argued the concept would allow Northrop Grumman to concentrate on the project instead of splitting its energy and manufacturing capacity between building two sixth-generation jets simultaneously.

Boeing, meanwhile, has already built carrier-based fighters for the Navy, including the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet. That history helped address Pentagon concerns about whether Boeing would have enough engineers and ⁠suppliers needed to develop both the F-47 and Navy fighter simultaneously, according to Reuters.

“The sixth-generation fighter is a generational leap in air superiority and will provide the world’s best aviators with unparalleled capabilities to fight, win, and come home safe,” acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao said in the Pentagon statement.

Stars and Stripes reporter Gary Warner, based in the Pacific Northwest, contributed to this report.